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Making News Today…

Missouri senator to back Giuliani

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. Kit Bond, R-Missouri, will endorse former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani for president Friday in the nation’s capital, two GOP sources with knowledge of the event tell CNN.

Bond's support gives Giuliani a boost in a Midwest swing state that will hold its primary on February 5, 2008. He is a former governor, who was first elected to the Senate in 1986 and reelected to a fourth term in 2004. Bond also serves as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, which makes him an influential voice on national security matters.

– CNN Chief National Correspondent John King

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Clinton last to file for New Hampshire primary

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, Friday will be the last major candidate to add her name to New Hampshire's presidential primary ballot.

Presidential hopefuls have until the end of the day to submit the paperwork and pay the $1,000 filing fee to get on the Granite State ballot.

And the delay may be over for election enthusiasts that have been waiting to hear what date the New Hampshire primary will take place. While not being specific on the timing, Secretary of State William Gardner has indicated he would set the date for the primary once the filing period closes.

– CNN Associate Producer Lauren Kornreich

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McCain: I am most consistent on abortion

GOOSE CREEK, South Carolina (CNN) — Three days after Sen. John McCain's campaign sent out a direct mail piece attacking the conservative credentials of rival Republican Rudy Giuliani, the Arizonan once again touted his pro-life record and declared that he is the strongest candidate in the current GOP field on the issue.Read the rest of this entry>>

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Political Hot Topics
(Today's top political stories from news organizations across the country)

Compiled by Lauren Kornreich
CNN Washington Bureau

Obama Envisions New Iran Approach: Senator Barack Obama says he would “engage in aggressive personal diplomacy” with Iran if elected president and would offer economic inducements and a possible promise not to seek “regime change” if Iran stopped meddling in Iraq and cooperated on terrorism and nuclear issues. New York Times

The first President Bush speaks (and leaves us confused): George H.W. Bush - the 41st president and father of the 43rd president - has joined the chorus wondering whether Hillary Clinton's debate stumbles earlier this week could dramatically redirect the course of the Democratic presidential race. But as he discusses the matter - in an interview airing on "Fox News Sunday" this weekend - he provides a useful reminder that Clinton isn't the only one who sometimes struggles with an answer. LA Times

Clinton, Dodd sign letter warning Bush on Iran: Hillary Clinton and 29 other senators wrote to President Bush yesterday to tell him he has no congressional authority for war with Iran, sparking debate among the Democratic presidential candidates. Boston Globe

Romney adviser at home in the spy world fray: On Sept. 19, 2001, J. Cofer Black, the director of the CIA's Counterterrorist Center, summoned two agents to his office. "I want bin Laden's head shipped back in a box filled with dry ice," Black told them, one of the agents later reported. "I want to be able to show bin Laden's head to the president." Black – who is now Mitt Romney's chief adviser on counterterrorism and national security – is a brash and tough-talking veteran spy. He is also controversial. Boston Globe

Did Romney up taxes or close loopholes?: Mitt Romney's Harvard MBA and gold-plated resume convinced many business leaders he would follow in the tradition of corporate-friendly Republicans when he was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002. Associated Press

GOP: 'Clinton Will Give Illegal Immigrants Voting Rights.' Say What?: Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee are on the same page today in trying to advance the Hillary Clinton driver's license imbroglio: During the Tuesday Democratic debate, Clinton offered a hazy answer to a question about Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal to offer limited licenses to illegal immigrants, opening up an angle of attack for Democrats. But the issue is proving fertile ground for Republicans as well. Hotline

Clinton's fundraiser raises questions: On the wall of Hsiao Yen Wang's apartment, a cramped, 17th-floor public housing unit on the city's Lower East Side, are photographs of her husband, David Guo, a cook who specializes in Fujian cuisine. Associated Press

The angry voter: Bad news for Dems: Congressional Democrats certainly know the power of a throw-the-bums-out message. It vaulted them to power a year ago this week. Little wonder anxiety is boiling over inside the new majority as lawmakers ponder a succession of polls and reach an inescapable conclusion: Lots of people think they are bums, too. Politico

Poll: Thompson edging Romney for GOP lead in S.C.: Former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson holds a thin lead for the 2008 S.C. Republican presidential primary, a new poll shows, potentially setting up the Palmetto State as the not-Mitt-Romney firewall. The State

Edwards now eligible for public funds: The Federal Election Commission on Thursday declared Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards officially eligible for federal matching money to help finance his campaign. Associated Press

Issue of Illegal Immigration Is Quandary for Democrats: Until Tuesday night, the Democratic presidential candidates had largely ignored the subject of illegal immigration. The topic, Democratic strategists concluded, was fraught with too much potential for alienating general election voters. Washington Post

Obama introduces Senate resolution on Iran: Democrat Barack Obama introduced a Senate resolution late Thursday that says President Bush does not have authority to use military force against Iran, the latest move in a debate with presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton about how to respond to that country's nuclear ambitions. Associated Press

GOP declares war on Dem pet projects: First they took on the hippie museum. Now, they’re gunning for Los Angeles’ Fashion District and tennis player Andre Agassi’s prep school. Politico

Bill Clinton Gives Interview to Former Foe: File this under Dept. of Strange Bedfellows: Former President Bill Clinton has apparently granted an interview to Chris Ruddy, a one-time archenemy of the Clintons who now runs the conservative publication Newsmax. New York Times

Undecided Schumer May Be Key to Mukasey's Chances: As Democratic opposition builds over attorney general nominee Michael B. Mukasey, no Democratic lawmaker has found himself in a tighter spot than Sen. Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), who had eagerly recommended the former federal judge as a consensus candidate. Washington Post

* Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, files paperwork to get on New Hampshire's primary election ballot in Concord. Later, she stops by Sophie and Zeke's in Claremont.

* Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani announces an endorsement in Washington, D.C. Later, he meets with local residents in Errol and Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. In the evening, Giuliani delivers remarks at a town hall meeting in Shelburne and meets with locals in Berlin.

* Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards heads to South Carolina for a town hall meeting in Cheraw and a roundtable discussion with former employees of Springs Textile Mill in Lancaster. Later, actor Danny Glover joins Edwards to tour A Place for Hope and the Blackmon Road Community in Rock Hill.

* Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, holds a town hall meeting in North Charleston, South Carolina. Later, McCain attends an event in Lexington honoring Joshua L. Torrence, a Marine who was killed in Fallujah, Iraq.

* Following his New Hampshire stop, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware, heads to South Carolina for a meet and greet at Limestone College in Gaffney and an NAACP banquet at Carolina First Center in Greenville. In the evening, Biden attends the HBCU Classic Coaches' reception at the Hilton Hotel in Greenville.

* Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, attends an Every Child Matters Presidential Candidates Forum at the University of New Hampshire in Durham. Later, Dodd meets with local residents at the Puritan Backroom Restaurant in Manchester.

* Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney holds "Ask Mitt Anything" town hall meetings in Marshalltown and Waterloo. Later, he heads to Cleveland, Ohio and talks to the press at the Union Club.

* Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee holds an event at the Convention Center in Columbia, South Carolina.

* Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, visits the historic Clarendon County Courthouse, where one of the historic Brown v. Board cases was decided, for a community gathering in Manning, South Carolina. Later, Obama addresses NAACP freedom fund dinners in Sumter and Greenville.

* New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson stumps through Iowa starting with a coffee with locals in DeWitt. He delivers a speech called "Keeping our Promise," which will focus on policy for veterans and military families in Davenport. Later, Richardson holds events in Tipton and Cedar Rapids.

soundoff(20 Responses)

While listening to CSPAN live this morning, a caller mentioned that, in 1994, Rudy Giuliani used the "N" word and "shoe-shine boys" when referencing African Americans. The program involved a session with talk-show host Ballentine. Can this be substantiated?

I get it. I am really getting tired of fighting with you, I have not been angry(maybe frustrated) and I have not been hateful. I learned that. I will vote Democratic, but now I am leaning towards Joe Biden. I don't care for Obama.

Okay, I will sign Karen. Please stop trying to make me be someone you want me to be? I am not hurting anyone and everyone is different. I really can't imagine that you could be a Democrat. Go ahead and put this up too, everything I do seems to irk you. I am not your robot, you know.

Mimes..do you know that you are interfering to much in my business, I am furious with you. I was just watching Lou Dobbs and he was once again was telling us to register as Independents. Well, awhile back in the being of the summer I did just that and registered as an Independent. Then I think it was in September, I went back to the election board and changed to Democrat again because I thought you would get mad. Even though I had registered as a Independent I was still going to vote Democractic.I did it to teach Congress a lesson about trying to take us for granite. Well, anyway now I am annoyed because I should have stuck to my guns. Now I let Lou down, even though he doesn't know, but I have a guilty concious as well. I can't go back to the election board again because they will think that somthing is wrong with me. Just stop trying to make problems all the time and mind your own business.

Apparently, I do not live up to your expectations so therefore I won't write anymore. I will just read your excellent writings and remain silent. I am tired of fighting with you. All you do is remove things, then you put them on again and I don't even know who you are. Actually I don't want to know you, I don't like people who are not really there.

I am not writing on the blogs, but I want you to let me know why I have to vote for Hillary. I really don't care for any of them. I wish the Dems had picked other candidates. I hope that everyone else doesn't think like that because then the Republicans will get in and finish us off. I am going to pick who I want, I don't care what you think. Go find someone else to polarize.

I am the one that should be annoyed. Of all the people that came on this ticker in the beginning before I got here you could have chosen one of them to polarize. They probably knew alot more about politics and were just as angry about it as I was. Now, I bet your sorry that you chose me.

I just want to say one more thing before I leave for the night. I know it was you that had that Pakistanian guy call my house yesterday posing as someone from the bank. I know that Pakistanians don't work there. I am sorry if you were annoyed today, but you are always annoyed. I was annoyed also. Now goodnight. One more thing to make you feel better. Hillary has more campaign money than all the other candidates, given to her by powerful companies. She is like a freight train going full steam ahead and she is unstoppable. She will win.